Nurse professionalism scale: Development and psychometric evaluation

Abstract

Professionalism is a key trait connecting the nurse and patient, and code of professional conduct, a professional legitimacy in considering nursing as a profession and an essential tool that facilitates nurse practice. This study sought to develop Nurse Professionalism Scale and test the psychometric properties. Data were collected through self-report from registered nurses working in various health care settings selected using stratified random sampling and as multi-source feedback from supervisors and colleagues using Nurse Professionalism Scale. Reliability estimate of the 38 item scale was 0.910 (self-report), 0.951 (supervisor-feedback) and 0.952 (colleague-feedback). Exploratory factor analysis using self-reports extracted five factors with 22 items. Confirmatory Factor Analysis using supervisors and colleague feedbacks yielded acceptable model fit indices confirming psychometric properties. The scale can be used to evaluate professionalism among nurses across settings. Multisource feedback from stakeholders can be considered as an effective method of gathering data on this construct.